I remember in the 2000s Meijer had whole racks filled with model kits... Most of my stash is bought from there along with a few Aztec (?) air brush sets, Testers bottle paint sets and so on...
I remember paying $1.79 for an MPC kit in '71 at Kresge's... And right next door was Federal's Dept store... They had kits also.. prices were about the same....